Forensic Science Courses

Are you a forensic science aspirant from India? If yes, this article will be of help to you. Here, I’ve listed down some of the best forensic science courses available in India!

How’s this article of help to me, you may ask. Before choosing an academic program, it’s better to be knowledgeable about its alternatives, availability of PG courses and other important details. These details will help you make an informed choice!

In short, this article will help you make an informed choice! It has a list of forensic science programs. You may go through the list and choose the best one!

This article has got something for everyone! You may be a 12th pass student, a graduate or even a postgraduate degree holder! Whatever the case may be, you will find a relevant forensic science course here! That’s my promise!

What’s Forensic Science all about? What’s the scope and potential associated with this domain? Is pursuing a career in this sector worth the effort? What’s the career prospects like? You will find answers to these questions in the next section. Here they are –

Forensic Science: Basic Details

In simple terms, forensic science is the application of scientific methods and techniques to matters under investigation by a court of law.

Haven’t you seen forensic experts in action in popular TV shows and movies? They jump into action after the crime is committed. They can be seen collecting evidence at crime scene, analyzing it and obtaining results that ultimately aid in progression of the investigation!

Forensic Science is a very vast field. With time, this field has evolved noticeably. It has got influenced by technology all this while. For example, Cyber forensics is a relatively new sub-branch.

As I mentioned before, forensic science is a very vast field. It consists of numerous sub-branches. Some of the popular ones are –

Digital Forensics

Computational Forensics

Forensic Accounting

Forensic Chemistry

Forensic Microbiology

Forensic DNA Analysis

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis

Forensic Engineering

Forensic Linguistics

Forensic Pathology

Forensic Psychiatry

Forensic Psychology

Forensic Toxicology

Forensic Science experts can be seen working at crime scene and their respective laboratories. At crime scene, they can be seen working in tandem with Police force. At crime scene, their main aim is to –

Analyze and study the crime scene

Collect crucial evidence

Mark and label the evidence properly

Store and preserve the evidence safely

At their respective laboratories, they perform the following tasks –

Keep record of all the evidence collected

Analyze the evidence using scientific methods and equipment

Arrive at conclusions after analyzing

Prepare reports related to their findings

Apart from lab and crime scene role, forensic experts may also be asked to testify as a witness in Court of Law!

The tasks performed by a forensic scientist or professionals depends upon his/her specialization and educational qualifications. For example, a Digital Forensics expert is not the best guy to analyze bloodstain patterns!

Similarly, a forensic chemistry expert is not the best guy to analyze evidence related to financial fraud! In short, there are specializations within this discipline!

At the end of the day, forensic experts play a huge role in crime solving. Thanks to their inputs, the investigating agency gets crucial inroads and clues related to the crime!

Before heading to the meat of the matter – list of forensic science courses in India – let us check out some basic facts about these academic programs. Here they are –

Course Formats

In India, forensic science programs are available at undergraduate level, post graduate level and doctoral level. Thus, based on the ‘level’ of the academic degree, these courses can be classified into the following types –

UG (Undergraduate) level courses

PG (Postgraduate) level courses

Doctoral level courses

Apart from that, there also exists no-credit forensic science programs as well as workshops related to this subject. But I haven’t included them in the article.

UG, PG and Doctoral Degrees – these are types of courses based on the ‘level’ of the Degree! If we analyze each type of Degree, we will be able to find that there exists multiple course type/format within each level!

Trouble grasping the above mentioned line? What I want to say is that UG level programs consist of certificate, Bachelor’s Degree and Diploma courses!

Admission Process

Reputed institutes rely on merit based admission process. Such institutes make use of relevant entrance test to select deserving candidates. Some institutes are also known to conduct their own qualifying test in order to select deserving candidates.

Some other institutes are also known to conduct direct as well as donation based admission process.

Fees

Fees charged for the academic program may vary from one institute to another. Course fees depends upon the following factors –

Type of institute (Government, Private, Aided etc)

Location of the college

Status and rating of the college

Scholarship status (of student, if applicable)

Government colleges are known to charge low fees. Average fees in private colleges could be anywhere between 60-100K INR per year.

Career Prospects

Forensic science professionals have diverse job opportunities available in front of them. They have access to Government jobs, Private sector jobs and self-employment!

Let us talk about Government jobs first! Forensic science professionals are hired by law enforcement agencies, investigation agencies, tax authorities, forensic laboratories etc. Let us take a look at some of the main recruiters. Here they are –

Police Department

Government Forensic Laboratories

Income Tax Department

Commercial Tax Department

Crime Branch

Intelligence Bureau

CBI

Armed Forces

Government Hospitals

Government Banks and Finance Institutes

Let us talk about private sector jobs now. Forensic experts are hired by private investigation agencies, security agencies, consultancies, law firms and detective agencies. If you want to remain self-employed, you may start your own agency or consultancy service.

In the above mentioned firms, you may don roles such as –

Forensic Expert

Forensic Scientist

Investigative Officer

Forensic Accountant

Laboratory In-Charge

Laboratory Assistant

Law Expert

Cyber Forensic Expert

Salary

Starting salary of a Forensic Science professional depends upon a number of factors. Some of the prominent factors are –

Institute from which the candidate completed the course

His/her specialization

The domain he/she has chosen

Job location

Status of the employer (Government/Private)

On an average, starting salary could be anywhere between 50-80K INR per month. In case of a Government job, the salary will be as per the pay scale and grade.